The present invention deals with a dental implant to be used as support for fixing a dental prosthesis.
It is known to fit a dental prosthesis by first securing a dental implant to the maxilla, so that the implant acts as a base for fixing the prosthesis once the implant has become integrated into the bone.
In particular bolts for dental implants are known which basically have a generally cylindrically shaped main body provided externally with a screw thread for securing it by screwing it to the maxilla. The main body is usually composed of a metallic material, preferably titanium. A trunco-conical section is preferably arranged at the external end of the main body and is smaller base is joined to the screw thread, while its larger base extends in the form of a prismatic protuberances of preferably hexagonal cross-section and is provided with a threaded axial hole. The protuberance enables the main body to be screwed into the maxilla by a tool such as a spanner.
Also, a removably mountable cap secured to the main body by a fixing bolt screwed into the axial hole of the prismatic protuberance is known. The removably mountable cap is secured after a certain amount of time, i.e. when the implant is firstly fixed in the maxilla. Afterwards, the removably mountable cap is withdrawn and replaced with the dental prosthesis which is joined to the prismatic protuberance of the main body by a bolt screwed into the axial orifice. With this type of dental implant, the fitting of the dental prosthesis requires the prior extraction of the removably mountable cap which, under certain circumstances, may present difficulties with the resulting aggravation for the patient.
Recently, caps snappable onto the prismatic protuberance are being used. They do not need to be extracted in order to fit the prosthesis. However, the fixing of these caps leaves a lot to be desired.